COMEDY

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STAND-UP KEIRON NICHOLSON The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 22 Sep, Tue 1 Oct; Vespbar, Glasgow, every Wed

Travelling tales can be a great resource for any comic but Keiron Nicholson’s routines from the six months he spent roaming South East Asia earned him a BBC Radio Scotland series. Backpackers Anonymous was so-called ‘because all of the stories involve me being an idiot in some way, they’re confessional like Alcoholics Anonymous’, he says. These dispatches recently finished airing and the 28-year-old Glaswegian reflects that ‘such a wealth of experience packed into such a short time, meeting new people, some of whom are very nice, some of whom are very strange, it’s just so much to draw upon’. Unfortunately, the show’s afternoon slot meant there was no opportunity to include the ‘Museum of Dead

Babies’ he stumbled across in Bangkok. ‘Like the back room of a university, lots of them preserved in some kind of fluid,’ he recalls. ‘Some had little gifts on them, like a packet of Quavers, one of the most bizarre sights I’ve ever seen. That was a bit dark for radio.’

Beginning comedy in Brighton three years ago, and having performed in Hong Kong and Australia, Nicholson now plays The Stand clubs and is a regular fixture at Vespbar’s new-material night in Glasgow. Ghosts of the Happy and High-Spirited, his recent Fringe show with Nicholas Cooke, took a macabre turn when their venue flooded mid-run. ‘The water waited until the exact moment when it became clear it was going to be a nice, good-sized audience to start pouring through the ceiling,’ he laments. ‘But because it was about ghost stories, at least one person thought the dripping was an atmospheric touch. Instead, I had to play fire warden.’ (Jay Richardson)

54 THE LIST 19 Sep–17 Oct 2013

Events are listed by date, then by city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to comedy@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Kirstyn Smith. Indicates Hitlist entry

Thursday 19

Glasgow FREE Pop-Up Comedy The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. 8.30pm. A free comedy event picking out some of the Scottish comedy scene’s freshest talent. The Thursday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Joe Heenan does the hosting thing for Gary Little, Johnny Candon, Christian Schulte-Loh and Jelly Bean Martinez. Edinburgh Thursday Notebook Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £3. Ben Verth steps up to introduce the new talent and new material night with the occasional old-timer dropping by. The Thursday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £10 (£7; members £5). Billy Kirkwood hosts Junior Simpson, Andrew Bird and Ashley Storrie.

Friday 20

Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £10. With Bryan Lacey, Brendan Dempsey and Rudi Lickwood. The Friday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 19. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £8 (£6). The amazing Janey Godley headlines tonight with support from Julia Sutherland and Frazer Letham. Viv Gee is your MC. Edinburgh The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £8. Ben Verth presents a weekend of top local and visiting comedians to tickle your funny bone. The Friday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £12 (£10; members £6). See Thu 19 for line-up.

Saturday 21

Glasgow Jongleurs Comedy Club Jongleurs, The Glasshouse, 20 Glassford Street, 0870 011 1960. 8.30pm. £12. See Sat 20. Comedy @ The State The State Bar, 148 Holland Street, 332 2159. 9pm. £7 (£5). The grandaddy of Glasgow comedy venues continues to attract some of Scotland’s best comedians to its wee basement of joy. Clever grandaddy, so he is. The Saturday Show The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. 9pm. £15. See Thu 19 for line-up. Vespbar Comedy Club Vespbar, 14 Drury Street, 204 0060. 10pm. £8 (£6). See Fri 20, but Nellie Bean replaces Frazer Letham. Edinburgh Roy Chubby Brown The Edinburgh Playhouse, 18–22 Greenside Place, 0844 871 3014. 7.30pm. £20–£22. Blue comedy from the man branded ‘too rude for television’. Not too filthy for our nation’s stages, clearly, and there’s obviously a demand for his kind of stand-up. The Beehive Comedy Club Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket, 225 7171. 8.30pm. £8. See Fri 20. The Saturday Show The Stand, 5 York Place, 558 7272. 9pm. £15. See Thu 19 for line-up.